Dusty Richards Books in Order

Where to Start: Your First Trail with Dusty Richards

If you are new to the rugged frontier tales of Dusty Richards, the best place to saddle up is the Byrnes Family Ranch series. Starting with Texas Blood Feud, this multi-generational saga captures the essence of Richards' writing: historically accurate, fast-paced, and driven by characters with unbreakable moral compasses. It serves as the perfect introduction to his style before you branch out into his lawmen, outlaws, and cooperative series.

The Byrnes Family Ranch Series

This is Dusty Richards' signature series. It follows Chet Byrnes and his family as they fight to establish and defend their ranching empire across the wild expanses of Texas and Arizona. The books are highly linear and should be read in publication order to appreciate the family's growth, marriages, alliances, and ongoing feuds.

1. Texas Blood Feud (2009)
2. Between Hell and Texas (2011)
3. Blood on the Verde River (2013)
4. Brothers in Blood (2013)
5. Ambush Valley (2014)
6. A Good Day To Kill (2015)
7. Arizona Territory (2015)
8. Pray for the Dead (2016)
9. Deadly Is the Night (2016)
10. Valley of Bones (2017)
11. Sharpshooter (2018)
12. Rage for Vengeance (2018)

The Herschel Baker Series

For readers who prefer investigative grit mixed with classic gunfighting, the Herschel Baker series is a must-read. Baker is a lawman who goes to great lengths to bring justice to the lawless Montana border. The series consists of four books that are best read in order of release:

1. The Horse Creek Incident (2006) – Winner of the prestigious Spur Award
2. Montana Revenge (2007)
3. The Sundown Chaser (2009)
4. Wulf's Tracks (2010)

Understanding the Overlap: Brandiron & Texas Badge Mysteries

Richards often crossed characters over between his works, which sometimes leads to cataloging confusion. A prime example is the character of Brandiron. The Brandiron Books are a collection of novels focusing on law enforcement, cattle ranching, and frontier justice. The order of these books is:

• A Bride for Gil (2015)
• The Mustanger and the Lady (2016)
• The Texas Badge (2016)
• A Funeral Ain't the Place (2016)
• The Cherokee Strip/Range War of Callie County (2016)
• Gold in the Sun (2017)
• The Pride of Texas (2017)

Interestingly, The Texas Badge also serves as the launchpad for a spin-off trilogy called the Texas Badge Mysteries. Following Richards' death in 2018, his longtime friend and co-founder of the Northwest Arkansas Writers Workshop, Velda Brotherton, helped bring his drafts to completion, creating a focused mystery subseries:

1. The Texas Badge (2016)
2. Texas Lightning (2022) – Completed posthumously with Velda Brotherton
3. Texas Fury (2023) – Completed posthumously with Velda Brotherton

The O'Malleys of Texas Series

Another beloved series written solely by Richards that saw posthumous releases is the O'Malleys of Texas. This series tracks a family's struggles to survive and thrive on the Texas frontier. Because the manuscript drafts were largely completed by Richards before his passing, they were published as solo works years later:

1. The O'Malleys of Texas (2017)
2. Dead Aim (2018)
3. Massacre at Whip Station (2020)
4. And the Devil Makes Five (2022)

Posthumous Collaborations: Battling Harrigans of the Frontier

To ensure Richards' unfinished manuscripts saw the light of day, his estate partnered with Western author Matthew P. Mayo to complete the Battling Harrigans of the Frontier series. It is highly recommended to read these two books in order:

1. Westbound (2023)
2. A Need for Violence (2023)

The Frank Brothers & Phil Guthrey Series

Richards also penned shorter series that focus on classic Western tropes such as sibling rivalries, outlaws, and rangers. These can be read quickly as self-contained adventures.

Frank Brothers Series

1. Outlaw Queen (2012)
2. Blue Roan Colt (2012)
3. Brackeen's Law (2013)
4. Texas (2014)

Phil Guthrey Series

1. Chaparral Range War (2013)
2. Once a Ranger (2014)

The Ralph Compton and Trail Drive Connection

A point of confusion for many readers is Dusty Richards' extensive presence in the Ralph Compton Western Books and Trail Drive Books. Ralph Compton passed away in 1998, after which his publisher, Signet Books, turned "Ralph Compton" into a house name. Several notable Western authors were hired to write books under the Compton banner. Dusty Richards was one of the most prolific guest writers for these series.

While the Trail Drive series contains over 30 volumes started by Compton and continued by others, Dusty Richards specifically penned key entries such as The Abilene Trail (2003), Trail to Fort Smith (2004), The Ogallala Trail (2005), and Trail to Cottonwood Falls (2007). These books can generally be read as standalones, though they are numbered sequentially within the larger publisher series list.

Notable Standalones & Adaptation Trivia

If you want a break from long series commitments, Dusty Richards wrote several standalone novels. The most notable is The Mustanger and the Lady (2016). This novel was adapted into the acclaimed 2017 independent Western film Painted Woman, which shifted the perspective to focus on the female lead's journey of self-reliance and empowerment on the frontier.